1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to fishing accessories and more particularly to a collapsible landing net for convenient one-handed operation to net animals and objects and for ease of storage.
2. Description of the Related Art
Besides the atmosphere, one of the most rewarding aspects of fishing is derived from catching that fish. Once hooked, it turns into a game of tug of war between the fisherman and fish where strength is not the most determinative factor. Pull too hard and the fishing line and/or pole may snap. Wait too long between pulls may give the fish too much time to recuperate or escape. Most of the time it is sufficient to pull the hooked fish nearby so that it can be drawn from the water. Other times, it requires a fishing net to scoop the fish.
Landing nets, in general, are convenient devices for netting animals and objects. They usually include an elongated pole or handle with a net threaded through a circular rail on one end of the handle. While convenient for fishing, they can be difficult to employ in a situation where both hands are occupied in keeping the fish on the line or keeping the fishing pole braced. In a wet environment where the fish is struggling hard, the landing net can potentially slip from a user's hand. The net can also be relatively bulky making it cumbersome to stow.
Some solutions have been proposed that include collapsible netting. However, this involves a linkage system that can potentially snag and entangle the netting. Others involve a pivotal netting assembly attached to the end of a pole such that the netting can be folded over the pole. This permits ease of storage, but the netting assembly cannot be folded to reduce the overall form. Thus, it would be a benefit in the art to provide a manual landing net that can be stably employed in a wide variety of situations and capable of reducing its form factor for easy storage.
Thus, a collapsible landing net solving the aforementioned problems is desired.